The Phnom Penh Post

Man hacks ex-wife’s mother to death in Kampong Thom

- Kim Sarom

A MAN was arrested in Kampong Thom province on Wednesday after he allegedly hacked his ex-mother-in-law to death at 2am in Baray district’s Balaing commune. Police said he confessed to the murder during questionin­g.

Kampong Thom province’s felony office head Chak Chanret said on Thursday that the 28-year-old suspect killed Duong Kheang, 51, a window who was a rice noodle vendor in Balaing commune.

Chanret said that in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Kheang’s neighbours heard screaming from her six-yearold granddaugh­ter, who was sitting outside on the house’s steps.

The neighbours and other villagers went to investigat­e and, seeing blood under the victim’s house, immediatel­y went inside and found Kheang dead in a pool of blood.

After the police were informed, Chanret said, his police officers went to inspect the scene and found the woman had six wounds on her head and seven on her body.

He said because the victim’s family was ver y poor, the police assumed that it was not a robbery but could have been a case of vengeance.

After collecting informatio­n, the police called the victim’s former son-in-law in for questionin­g.

Although the suspect had divorced Kheang’s daughter – and she had moved to Thailand to work – he had continued to live with the victim’s family, Chanret said.

He said that during questionin­g on Wednesday, the suspect admitted to holding a grudge against his mother-inlaw because she had consistent­ly refused to try and persuade her daughter to accept him back as her husband.

Consequent­ly, Chanret said, the suspect came to the house with an a xe at about 2am on Wednesday morning and hacked Kheang to death while she was sleeping.

“The man was arrested because he admitted that he k illed his former mother-inlaw because of revenge. We took a sample of his urine and tested it, but it didn’t contain any addictive substa nces at a ll,” he said.

Chanret said the suspect was being detained at Baray district police station before being sent to Kampong Thom prov incia l police station to put together a case to send to t he prov incia l court.

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